The 2018 CEMEX Pavilion competition was established to offer Guadalajara's student community an opportunity and a platform to express their aspirations, interests, concerns, and critiques of the architectural profession. This is materialized through an intervention in the courtyard of a heritage home in the city's historic center, which currently serves as both a workshop and a cultural center.
Supported by CEMEX and the Arq. Marcelo Zambrano Scholarship, the first edition of the 2018 CEMEX Pavilion competition was launched. Aimed at the student community of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, the competition invited participants to intervene in a heritage property in the city's downtown core, aiming to provide students with a fresh platform to express their concerns and passions about the profession through a built work, bridging the gap to professional practice.
On Monday, April 16, Chilean architect María Isabel Tuca, a prominent academic and professional association leader, passed away in Santiago. In 2000, she became the second female president of the Chilean Association of Architects, following Eliana Caraball in the mid-1980s.
In an interview with the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio after taking office, Tuca recalled that despite the warnings of the nuns at her school ("that was a career only for men," they told her), she chose to study architecture at the University of Chile, graduating in 1965.
The reality of many Brazilian cities is so challenging that it would make many mayoral candidates hesitant to take on the task of public administration. With this in mind, and aiming to bring political and urban discussions to children and teenagers, the Brava Foundation, in partnership with the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, developed Cidade em Jogo, a free app reminiscent of the famous game SimCity, yet featuring problems and challenges typical of Brazilian cities.
Our cities are crying out for help. Brazil has the technical expertise to address urban problems, and there is no shortage of plans or laws to do so. However, implementing them is imperative—a task that requires a decisive political commitment to enact an urban reform based on the social function of the city, as established in the 1988 Constitution and regulated by the City Statute.
With this goal in mind, the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Brazil and the Institute of Architects of Brazil launched the “Open Letter to Candidates in the 2018 Elections for the Right to the City.”
Bauru Railway Station. Photo: Rafael Kage/Flickr. Image via HAUS
At the height of the railways in the mid-20th century, the state of São Paulo had around 500 railway stations. With the end of long-distance passenger train services during the 1980s and early 1990s, much of this heritage was abandoned, and those structures that escaped looting and vandalism eventually collapsed due to a lack of maintenance. Today, fewer than 50% of these stations remain standing, according to the Brazilian Association of Railway Preservation (ABPF).
Ten pieces made of different materials challenge the laws of balance. Using the same typology at different scales, each composition in the Balance collection explores the equilibrium between technique, people, and the ideas that inspire us. Each piece was produced using various traditional crafts, artisanal techniques, and Mexican industrial technologies that Joel has explored at different points in his career.
Architects and engineers have launched a call for free technical assistance in the design, renovation, or construction of social housing—already established by a 2008 law—to "be more than a law; to become a State Policy, as part of the social right to housing guaranteed by the Constitution."
The appeal was made at the opening of the Seminar on Technical Assistance for Social Housing, hosted by CAU/BR and the Federal Council of Engineering and Agronomy (CONFEA) in Brasília on the 15th of this month. If the proposal is adopted, Brazil would have the equivalent of a "SUS" (Unified Health System) for social housing. The proposal is part of the "Open Letter to Candidates in the 2018 Elections for the Right to the City," recently released by CAU/BR and the Institute of Architects of Brazil (IAB).
On the occasion of Pope Francis's visit to Chile, the Metropolitan Cathedral Chapter requested conservation work on the Cathedral's vaulted ceiling to improve safety and the condition of the ornamentation after recent earthquakes, aiming to safeguard the many faithful who visit the Cathedral daily.
Practice breeds true knowledge. As architectural design is a highly practical discipline, designers must continuously refine their creative philosophies through hands-on experience. With this in mind, the forum was themed “On Practice,” aiming to showcase the extensive creative work of China IPPR’s Third Architectural Design Institute over the past year—highlighting outstanding designs, refining creative methodologies, and demonstrating team vitality. We hope this forum marks a promising beginning, encouraging more architects to step away from their computers, pick up the microphone, and actively participate. By sharing their built works and welcoming diverse dialogues, they can help realize a creative vision where theory and practice complement and enrich each other.
https://www.archdaily.com/1114720/practice-speaks-pursuing-the-essence-of-architecture韩爽 - HAN Shuang
Cortesia de Concurso Masterplan Orla do Lago Paranoá
The firm Estúdio 41 was named the winner of the Paranoá Lake Waterfront Master Plan Competition. The proposal features leisure facilities, restaurants, and observation areas for waterfront users. Out of the 22 projects evaluated by the jury, Thiago de Andrade, Secretary of Territory and Housing Management, explained that feasibility is one of the winning entry's greatest merits, as no major interventions will be needed to implement the plan. “It is very simple and takes the entire environmental context into account. The next step is to hire the winner to finalize the design by the end of the year.”
The winning team will sign a contract to detail the master plan, incorporating feedback from the jury, the Secretary of Territory and Housing Management, the Brasília Environmental Institute (Ibram), and the Federal District population, who will offer input through public consultations.
Read an excerpt from the winning project's description below.
Sinuous shapes, contemplative spaces, native vegetation. These are some of the characteristics of the gardens of Burle Marx, one of the most prominent architects and landscape architects in Brazilian history. Throughout his 85 years of life, he left his mark on various Brazilian cities, including Recife, where he lived for five years.
To recover this piece of history and promote the appreciation of local heritage, cultural producer Sandro Lins developed the app Patrimônio PE Mobile, launched in early August. The app features 12 squares in Recife designed by Burle Marx and gathers historical information and data about their gardens and themes, compiled by professors Julieta Leite and Ana Rita de Sá Carneiro from the Department of Architecture and Urbanism at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE).
The city of Groningen, located in the north of the Netherlands, is an international benchmark for urban mobility. With just over 200,000 inhabitants, Groningen is considered the country's cycling capital—roughly 61% of all trips in the city are made by bicycle.
This shift in mindset dates back to the 1970s, when Dutch cities began to be dominated by cars and local realities were altered. The trend at the time was to redevelop older neighborhoods to make room for vehicles traveling to the center.
https://www.archdaily.com/1114738/groningen-a-dutch-benchmark-for-urban-mobilityLucas Augusto
Located in the heart of this neighborhood, at Marsella #59, Vitrina arose from the desire to create a design-focused exhibition space that goes beyond commercial interests. Inspired by early 20th-century department store window displays, this exhibition fosters a dialogue between designers, pedestrians, and the neighborhood regarding recent trends in the design scene and how each designer expresses their vision.
Vitrina features a 1.60m x 3.60m street-facing window and a 35-square-meter area enclosed by a 2.30m-high curtain, aiming to serve as a transitional space between the street and the interior, design and the user, and the pedestrian and the city. Every six weeks, the work of two designers or collectives will be presented, fostering a dialogue or a conceptual confrontation.
The Ministry of the Environment has launched an online guide to urban agriculture. The booklet compiles techniques, reading recommendations, initiative mapping, and other resources on urban gardens.
The guide aims to encourage new initiatives and support existing ones, including through an interactive map that showcases inspiring preservation, restoration, and food production projects in cities.
Spanish architect Rafael Moneo, winner of the 1996 Pritzker Prize, will design the new expansion of Madrid's Atocha railway station, as confirmed to the Spanish media by the Minister of Public Works, Íñigo de la Serna.
This latest expansion includes new platforms for the AVE—the high-speed rail network operated by the state-owned company Renfe—and will mark Moneo’s third intervention at the Spanish capital’s main railway station.
Bixiga, one of São Paulo's most traditional neighborhoods, has gained significant historical and tourist importance over the years, thanks to its cantinas, street festivals, and vibrant cultural scene. However, many of the neighborhood's other layers and histories are harder to discover and access. Recognizing these numerous attractions, heritage sites, and the overall complexity of the area, and believing in the importance of walking, the NGO SampaPé! has launched the "Bixiga a Pé!" map, which highlights Bixiga's diverse historical and cultural layers for those exploring the neighborhood on foot.
The communications department of the BioBío Regional Theater has shared a series of photos with us showing the light and color testing process ahead of the venue's upcoming opening, which is tentatively scheduled to take place between March 1 and 6, 2018, in Concepción, Chile.
Conceptualized by Smiljan Radic, Eduardo Castillo, and Gabriela Medrano as an 'urban lantern' that seeks to enhance the connection between the city and the banks of the BioBío River, the 10,000-square-meter building fills the void left by the loss of the former Concepción Theater, which was located at the intersection of Barros Arana and Orompello streets and later replaced by a shopping mall.
Over the past three weeks, we received a total of 230,000 votes from our readers to select the winners of the ArchDaily 2018 Building of the Year Awards in China. With a readership composed largely of industry professionals, voters selected the three most exemplary projects from more than 300 Chinese works published on ArchDaily.cn in 2017. As a peer-voted accolade, this recognition carries significant weight.
https://www.archdaily.com/1114625/2018-archdaily-china-building-of-the-year-awards-winners-announcedJoanna Wong
